Manitoba Business: Winnipeg Electric Railway Company / Winnipeg Electric Company

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Presidents | Vice-Presidents | Substations | Sources

The Winnipeg Electric Railway Company, formed in 1892 by entrepreneurs William Mackenzie and James Ross through the purchase of infrastructure developed by Albert William Austin, became the Winnipeg Electric Company in 1924. It provided streetcar, gas, and electrical service to Winnipeg and several outlying rural municipalities.

Electricity was provided from two main sources: a steam-generating plant at Assiniboine Avenue and Main Street, and three hydroelectric generating stations on the Winnipeg River: Pinawa Generating Station (constructed between 1903 and 1906), Great Falls Generating Station (constructed between 1914 and 1928), and Seven Sisters Generating Station (constructed between 1929 and 1952).

The company was sold in January 1953 to the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board.

Presidents

Period

President

1892-?

William Mackenzie (1849-1923)

?-1926

?

1927-1929

Andrew Wingate McLimont (1870-1951)

1929-1940

Edward Anderson (1867-1955)

1940-1952

William Henry Carter (1874-1962)

Vice-Presidents

Period

Vice-President

?-?

William Henry Carter (1874-1962)

c1922

Andrew Wingate McLimont (1870-1951)

?-?

Conrad Stephenson Riley (1875-1960)

?-?

Edwin Victor Caton (1884-1972)

?-?

Lawrence Frederick Betts “Lawrie” Palk (1885-1942)

General Managers

Period

General Manager

1892-1900

George Huestis Campbell (1855-1928)

1900-1917

Wilford Phillips (1858-1918)

1917-1928

Andrew Wingate McLimont (1870-1951)

1929-1940

Edward Anderson (1867-1955)

Chief Engineers

Period

Chief Engineer

1933-1953

Edwin Victor Caton (1884-1972)

Substations

Substation

Location

Year

Status

Academy Substation

216 Academy Road, Winnipeg

1947

Converted to residence (?)

Canada Cement Plant Substation

2395 McGillivray Boulevard, Winnipeg

1913

Demolished (?)

Dawson Substation

375 Dawson Road, Winnipeg

?

 

Desautels Substation

403-407 Rue Desautels, Winnipeg

1927

 

Harrow Substation

680 Harrow Street, Winnipeg

1920

 

Kildonan Substation / West Kildonan Substation

1812 Main Street, Winnipeg

c1907

 

Kylemore Substation

Osborne Street, Winnipeg

1909

Demolished (?)

Little Britain Substation

Main Street, RM of St. Andrews

c1907

Destroyed by fire (1951)

Logan Substation

1113 Logan Avenue, Winnipeg

1911

Demolished (?)

Middlechurch Substation

3796 Main Street, RM of West St. Paul

c1907

 

Mill Substation

41-55 Mill Street, Winnipeg

1905

 

Osborne Substation

265 Osborne Street, Winnipeg

1947

Demolished (2019)

Oxford Substation

Oxford Street [later Day Street], Winnipeg

1913

Demolished (?)

Powers Substation

354 Powers Street, Winnipeg

1946

Demolished (1985)

St. James Substation

1637 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg

1909

 

Sherbrook Substation

393 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg

1920

 

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Electric Railway Building (213 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg, Selkirk and Lake Winnipeg Railway Carbarn (479 Eveline Street, Selkirk)

Manitoba Business: Winnipeg Electric Railway Company / Winnipeg Electric Company

Manitoba Business: Manitoba Power Commission / Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board / Winnipeg Hydro / Manitoba Hydro

Sources:

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

“Annual report of the Winnipeg Electric Railway Company for the fiscal year ended December 31st, 1913,” Manitoba Free Press, 13 February 1914, page 17.

“Grand Falls power promised soon,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 June 1922, page 6.

“W. E. sub-station permit issued,” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 October 1946, page 5.

We thank Jordan Makichuk and Sandra Phillips for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 11 February 2024